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Decluttering Challenge Month 2, 365 items in 365 days

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What did YOU throw out?

Declutter March

Well, My den hasn’t improved any! I think I just shifted stuff around! How did you fare?

In February, over 50 readers of Still Blonde after all these YEARS took the Decluttering Challenge . They along with me pledged to throw out, giveaway or donate 365 items in 365 days. Well, a month has passed and it’s time to check in and report.

NEWCOMERS WELCOME!

Interested in joining the challenge, just make a comment below that you are ready to jump in. While you missed your first month’s entry, you still have 11 more months to go…and clean! Will you join us?

THE GIVEAWAY:

I promised that I would award the winner of this contest (chosen from all monthly comments and the end of the 12 month period) a prize that exceeds $100. So here’ the first part of the Prize:

  • $25 Pier One Gift Card (February addition to the Pile of Prizes)

More to be added each month! Won’t you join in for the fun?

One comment=One entry. Only one entry per month. Unless I decide to do a bonus…which I am not going to do this month. Giveaway ends Jan. 25, 2011

HOW DID I DO? HOW DID YOU DO?

For my part I threw out a ton, now every time I open a cupboard, closet or drawer, I am starting to think–Okay, what don’t I need in here? I think I could do better, based on my den shot above, but if I keep throwing out, I’ll get to that room sooner or later, RIGHT?

Here’s some input from your guys over the last month (with 127 comments on the first post, we have some INVOLVED READERS!) :

Sarah Said: This week we have made one trip to the Salvation Army to donate used clothing and another to Best Buy to recycle an old printer, tape deck and a box full of batteries. Now I am sitting here at the computer surrounded by boxes of books and videos that need to be sorted, priced and given to the library or Salvation .

Carma Sez: I am definitely signing on for this one. I’m at the point in life where it is time to get ready to downsize and declutter for certain…It will be very freeing both mentally and space-wise!!

Mary J said: Well, I started.I pulled out HABA items that will be sent as a care package to an Army soldier in Afghanistan for Valentines day.

Kay regaled us with her plan: I am also doing this. My basement is so bad it’s hard to know where to go but I am starting at the bottom of the steps and going West….

Heather S. said: I am going through clothes and donating stuff that doesn’t fit or I rarely wear. I like the feeling of getting rid of stuff.

Vicki B said: I decluttered a two foot tall pile of boys clothes age newborn-2 years today. I need to do my pile of mail that is buy the front door next there are ads in their back to christmas and before.

365 in 365…I think some of you have some catching up to do….

If you have a blog, please copy (not save image) with button to your blog! And get your reader’s decluttering too!

Still Blonde after all these YEARS Decluttering Button

UPDATE:  We are currently in month 3 of this challenge, here’s the current link to find out all the current prizes and decluttering news:  Decluttering Challenge Month 3

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Comments

  1. librarypat says

    I have been working on decluttering for months, but it doesn’t seem to help.
    Sent two large boxes to a charity that takes household goods for transitional housing. Am also sorting for other charities and their thrift stores. With all the sorting going on, the mess is bigger than ever.

    • stillblondeafteralltheseyears says

      Okay Pat, then maybe once a week, just take to each place WHAT YOU HAVE FOR THEM! Get it out the door. Maybe just cave and give ALL the stuff to one place. It sounds like you just need to get it moving, then you might feel some headway. Keep up the good work.

      The Chief Blonde!

      • librarypat says

        We have already taken over a dozen truck loads to various charities in the past year plus a number of car loads. We have 4 households worth of stuff we are dealing with. Ours, two family members who passed away, my old boss who moved, plus stuff from a friend (in her 80’s) who closed her gift/antique shop. All that plus I lost my job and all my supplies (I was a children’s librarian & teacher) came home with me. Most of those I am not going to get rid of. We are getting there, but 4 full houses of stuff is a bit much to deal with.

  2. Keenly Kristin says

    Well, about two weeks ago, I donated a bunch of baby items and toys to Purple Heart, along with some clothing. I actually had to talk my husband into letting go off this short-sleeved dress shirt that I would prevent me from going out in public with him. (I think we all have problems) About a week ago, I threw out a bunch of boxes (review items!) that I kept thinking I could use (he started calling the back porch the “box room”). Now, the plastic bags need to go to the store’s recycle bin (you’d die if you saw how many of them I have!) Plus, I finally was able to throw away a string of patio lights that were broken that my husband KNEW he could fix. Um, yeah. NO!

  3. Barbara Curry says

    Ihave 2 bedrooms where I STORE stuff, haven”t seen the beds in a couple years. The challenge motivates me to get going and clean out things. Do we count items given away?

  4. mary says

    well, living in a single wide mobile home space is at a precious find.
    so i had a friend come over one day with this HUGE bag of tupperware…mind you i do not have the room for it
    so i graciously accepted and she said what i couldnt use to regift it(it was gently used) well, another friend and i had lunch and she was commenting on needing some and the cost…i told her no worries i had just the thing…so to her very large and more than two cabinet home they went!
    now onto the spare room of doom….

    • stillblondeafteralltheseyears says

      Mary–SO HAHAHAHAHA! Tupperware–ugghhh! I got rid of mine years ago. Now I will only use pyrex. It’s so stackable and doesn’t get all wonky in the dishwasher. Good luck in the spare room of doom…Hope to hear good news next month!

  5. Danielle says

    Our entire house is in major need of decluttering.. Last week I went through both my boys clothes and sold a bunch that no longer fit on Craigslist. I also sold a couple toys that were in the garage taking up space. Yesterday I went through the kitchen cabinets and drawers and bagged a bunch of sippy cups, baby bowls and toddler utensils that we no longer use, I’ll be posting those on freecycle today. So far I’m happy with my progress!

  7. bonnie says

    I am so far behind on this challange, but I will let you all know what I have been up to anyway. In January I managed to clear out some of the yarn and crochet patterns I had from my mom.. I don’t crochet.. February my step daughter had a fire and lost her house, so I am cleaning out my cupboards and linen closets to get her started over. this was done as I am recovering from foot surgery, so can’t do to much heavy stuff yet. I did clean out a couple of totes bins I stored fabric in and posted on freecycle. I still have the craft room and garage to tackle when I can walk better.

  9. Jen Sorrentino says

    Last month we started in the basement and came out
    with 5 trashbags of stuff that we either gave
    away or freecycled. This month I have 3 bags
    if baby clothes to consign at the totswap!
    I am excited to see it all slowly disappear. My
    theory is if I haven’t used it in a year it goes.

  10. Polly says

    I am making progress. I have moved a lot of stuff this past month. I thought this was a great way to declutter, I knew I could find one item a day – now I’m finding more and it feels good. Some items are packed up to take to our locate charity and one group was throw out. Thanks for the motivation I needed to get started.

  11. barb g says

    Sounds like a great plan with a lot of work. I did throw out a bunch of cardboard boxes today I had broke down so that’s a good start. I’m talking over 100 boxes I had in my front room from getting review products. Man, I don’t know how they multiplied like that so quickly!

  12. Mary J says

    Still working on it. Husband has lost quite a bit of weight and we cleaned out his closet. Donated the clothes to Goodwill.
    MY husband also had old ham operator equipment that he donated to a local ham radio club.
    Old vhs videos went to the local library.
    Lots of old magazines went to the hospital when my husband was in there for surgery.
    My nieghbors boys got a lot of my Happy Meal toys.
    Ok-I have been daily working on dejunking.This is a master list of stuff.Little stuff would take all night to list.
    Thanks for the challenge.

  13. Jane says

    I made progress in my closet, going through workout clothes and sweaters. I free-cycled the sweaters, and the workout clothes (and a few others) are waiting to get picked up by Purple Heart.
    I still have a long way to go…

  14. Sandy says

    February was a good decluttering month- seriously good…at least one item a day to be donated that is no longer used. I also went thru a ton of boxes and and sorted, and toss, and immediately threw away the junk instead of letting the box sit there staring at me saying you need to keep me- or don’t throw this away.

    Mail- I look at it over the trash and immediately toss out junk mail and stuff and have 2 days a week where if I have not tossed out magazines that have come in they go- they go to the recycling bin where neighbors take them- so not wasting…
    boxes go into the recycling as soo as they come in- no sitting and pondering if I will need it or not in the future.

    I have come a long way in the past two years and coming closer to a good goal I have- when it gets warmer out I am going to pull all my clothes out and keep donate or toss and not hold onto clothes I liked and kept because most are too big and never will be that size again

    • stillblondeafteralltheseyears says

      Sandy, wow, you are a machine. I love your mail approach. Mine is to go through it all before my husband has a chance to look at it. He has to carefully ponder each item..I just keep throwing it out. Most of it, I don’t even open! HA!

      The Chief Blonde

  15. carol l says

    I have made some progress.
    Last month we got rid of quite a bit in the garage to the Salvation Army that we had waiting there forever. Dolls, clothes, baby things, books, crock pot, etc. Hubby was happy to get that stuff out of his space!
    Today I went through the towels in both bathrooms and got rid of washclothes that looked bad.Now used for rags. I straightened up the towels on the shelves and switched some newer towels to my other bathroom that didn’t work for the bathroom I bought them for.
    I still need to do other shelves but now I won’t need to jump up and down like a ninja to shove the towels onto the shelves!
    Oh, and last week I cleaned out the fridge. I pulled out all the shelves and drawers and washed them down and threw away a bunch of stuff. Then I put everything back in neatly and more organized. I still need to do the freezer yet. That won’t be fun but I need to because I preform the same type of move to get things to stay in there without falling out, like in the bathroom closet.
    I have so much to do! We had our kids and grandkids living with us for a long time and I never got things straightened up after. We still have lots of their stuff here because their house is small and they have their top kitchen cabinets and pantry in their one car agarge till SIL can paint them and put them up. Their house was a repo, and a disaster. We also have lots of their things in the gargae still also. So we have all that and now have our nephew living with us.

  16. Lynda/BOLD says

    I’m decluttering my garage sale stash. You know, that pile of stuff I’ve been collecting for the last 5 years in expectation of having a garage sale that never seems to happen. What was I thinking? I’m too old to garage sale. OH MY! let me clarify. I’m too old to have them myself, not too old to got to other people’s garage sales, which I love to do. How else do you think I got all this stuff, anyway?

    • stillblondeafteralltheseyears says

      Lydna, I am totally cracking up about your garage sale story. I have the same problem as far as buying, I don’t even kid myself about the selling! Ebay is another matter….(PS> I know I owe you two articles and a giveaway…where does the friggin’ time go?)

      The chief Blonde

  18. Ted Kooper says

    I been donating stuff like crazy the last 2 years. I still have a lot more to go. Seems like a endless task.

  19. Mary Elderton says

    I commented last month that, with no more kids at home, hubby and I were downsizing. Last night was our 4th in the new place (yay!) Unpacking and arranging continues (sigh)
    We got rid of TONS of stuff! I put a long list on freecycle, literally filled the clothing bin for our local thrift store, even gave away a huge lot of stuff to a neighbor we did not know who saw us struggling with a mattress and, without our asking, stopped to help and to a couple of young women who said in passing they could use some drawers.
    Even with all that, I am finding stuff as I unpack that I will not put away, but will find another home for.
    It’s inspiring to me to read your blog about doing the same thing in your life! It’s at once hard to let go and a relief once it’s done!

      • Mary Elderton says

        It IS awesome! And, as I said, I’m STILL unpacking things that will not be put away but given away!

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